Tunnel liner



R. V. PROCTOR TUNNEL LINER Aug. 15, 1933.

Filed may 28, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WWW-ma Patented Aug. 15,1933 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE to The Commercial Shearing & StampingCompany, Youngstown, Ohio, a Corporation of Ohio Application May 28,1931. Serial No. 540,640

12 Claims.

My invention relates to liner segments for subterranean tunnels or othersimilar structures.

According to present practices, subterranean tunnels are generallyprovided with a lining made up of steel segments assembled in courses orrings circumferentially of the tunnel, said rings being secured togetherside by side. A tunnel liner segment is formed of a steel plate havingits edges bent up substantially at right angles to form side walls. Theedges of the side walls are reinforced by angle irons welded thereto.End walls for the liner segment in the shape of separate plates arewelded to the ends of the bent plate forming the body of the liner.

It is desirable to secure adjacent courses in a tunnel lining togetherby means of bolts fastened through the bent up side wall of the segment,as well as through one of the legs of the reinforcing angle irons weldedthereto. The holes for the bolts are preferably punched through the sidewall of the liner segment and the leg of the reinforcing angle adjacentthereto in one operation.

It is well known that, in punching operations, if the thickness of thematerial to be perforated exceeds the diameter of the hole to bepunched, considerable trouble with the punching dies will beexperienced. The thickness of the side wall of liner segments, accordingto the present construction, together with the thickness of the leg ofthe angle iron secured thereto, is such as to exceed the diameter of thebolt hole to be punched. As a result, considerable difficulty with thepunching dies is experienced.

In addition to the difiiculty with the dies, the angle irons previouslyused, having equal legs, did not dispose of the available section ofmetal to the best advantage or with the maximum efficiency.

In order to improve upon the liner segments known heretofore in theabove respects, I have invented a liner segment consisting of a steelsheet having its edges bent up to form side walls. Reinforcing angleshaving unequal legs are welded to the bent up side Walls with thethinner legs of the angle iron in contact with the side walls. Thisarrangement of the reinforcing angle iron has a two-fold purpose. In thefirst place, it reduces the depth of the hole which must be punchedthrough the side walls and reinforcing angle iron for admitting thebolts for securing adjacent plates together. In the second plate, itdisposes the metal section of the angle iron most efilciently, in thatthe greater area of section is disposed at a maximum distance from thebody of the plate, whereby the moment of inertia of the section isincreased so as to give the plate greater resistance to bending stress.

For a complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, in which--- I Figure 1 is a partial sectionalview taken circumferentially of a course in a tunnel liner; Figure 1 mayalso be described as a partial transverse sectional view of the tunnelliner, or as a longitudinal sectional view of several plates connectedtogether to form part of a liner course;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the plane indicated by the lineIIII in Figure 1; the line I--I of Figure 2 indicates the plane of thesection shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of a complete liner plate;

Figure 3A is a partial sectional view along the line IIIAIIIA of Figure3, showing a detail;

Figure 4 is a partial sectional view similar to Figure 2, to enlargedscale, showing a modified form-of liner plate;

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 2, showing a still further modifiedform of plate;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view showing the rolled shape fromwhich segments of the character shown in Figure 5 may be produced;

Figure 7 illustrates a further modified form of the invention; and jFigure 8 shows a similar modification which differs in a slight detailfrom that of Figure '7.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and in particular to Figures 1through 3, a tunnel liner 10 comprises a plurality of courses. Eachcourse extends circumferentially of the tunnel and consists of anassembly of liner segments 12, 13, 14 and 15. As shown in Figure 2, eachsegment 12 is made up of a steel plate, the body portion of which formsthe outside wall or skin of the liner. The lateral edges 16 of the sheetare bent up substantially at right angles to form side walls for thesegment 12. Instead of bending the side walls 16 up from the plane ofthe body of the sheet 12, I prefer to introduce a reverse bend 17 in theplate so that the fillet 18, which is inevitably formed between theangularly extending portions of the segment, is offset from the plane ofthe body portion thereof. The reason for this reverse bend will appearlater. 1

Reinforcing angle irons 19, having legs of unequal thickness, are weldedto the side walls 16 adjacent their edges by welds 20 and 20a with thethinner leg of the angle in contact with the side Wall 16. The thickerleg of the angle iron thus projects inwardly of the segmentsubstantially parallel with the body portion thereof.

The ends of the segments 12 are closed by end plates 21, the shape ofwhich may perhaps be best observed in Figure 3. These plates are weldedto the side walls 16 of the plate 12, as well as the body portionthereof, and to the ends of the reinforcing angle irons 19. The weldsjoining the end plates to the reinforcing angle irons and the bodyportion of the plate are shown at 22 and 23. Bolt holes 24 are formed inthe end walls 21 to facilitate end-to-end connection of adjacentsegments in the liner course by means of bolts 25.

As shown in Figure 3A, the ends of the end plates 21 are beveled towardtheir inner surfaces, to facilitate welding to the ends of the sidewalls 16. The weld is ground smooth to permit a close fit betweenlaterally adjacent liner plates.

The construction just described provides a water tight seal for thejoint between the side walls and the end plates. By the method offabrication used previously the side walls were attached to the endplates by an internal welded fillet. This left open the space betweenthe edge of the side wall and the inner face of the end plate. Andhowever tight this joint was made, it was not waterproof. The novelconstruction just described avoids the leaky joints characterizing theearlier types of liner segments.

in order toenable the tunnel lining to withstand aXial strains,especially those resulting from the application of pressure on theforward end of the liner during the advancing of the shield by which thetunnel is bored, I provide reinforcing elements 26 extendingtransversely of the segments 12. In the plate illustrated in Figures 1through 3, these reinforcing elements take the form of suitable lengthsof ordinary T-rails. Other rolled shapes, such as I-beams, may beemployed for the same purpose. The members 26 are welded to the bodyportion of the plate 12 by welds 2'7, and to the side walls thereof. Theofisetting of the fillet 18 at the edge of the body portion of the platemakes it possible for the reinforcing elements 26, having their ends outsquare, to abut the body portion and side walls of the liner segmentfirmly so as to provide the desired reinforcementtherefor. Without theoifsetting of the filletsyit would be necessary to clip the corners ofthe reinforcing members or else to leave a space between the latter andthe body portion of the liner segment.

The plates 12 are curved longitudinally, as shown in Figure 1 and, whenassembled end to end by means of the bolts 25, they constitute aringshaped course for a tunnel lining. For completing the are formed bya series of segments 12 into a complete circle, I provide specialsections 13 and 14, which are similar to the other sections except thatthey have one end wall disposed at an oblique angle to the body portionof the segment. The segment 13, for example, has its end wall 21a at anacute angle to the body portion of the'segment. Similarly, the segment14 has its end wall 211) at an obtuse angle to the body portion thereof.The other end walls of the segments 13 and 14 are similar to those ofthe segments 12. Thus, when a liner course has been completely built upof segments 12, except for the space occupied by the segments 13 and 14,the course may be completed by inserting the segment 13 in position andbolting it to the adjacent segment 12. The segment 14, being slightlywedge-shaped, is well adapted to being forced between the ends of thesegments 13 and 15 to bring the liner course to its proper finaldimensions. When the segment 14 has been bolted in position, the courseis complete and the next succeeding course may be constructed.

Adjacent courses in the liner are connected by bolts 28 and 28a.Segments in adjacent courses may be connected by such bolts as thecourses are successively built up. The bolts 28 pass through the sidewalls 16 only of adjacent segments 12. The bolts 28a, however, traversethe thinner leg of the reinforcing angle iron 19 as well and, therefore,are somewhat longer than the bolts 28.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that I have provideda liner segment which is characterized by numerous advantages. Thesegment is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is characterized bygreat strength and rigidity. By welding the reinforcing angle irons tothe edges of the side walls of the segments with their thinner legsabutting the side walls, I reduce the depth of the hole which has to bepunched for the bolts connecting plates in adjacent courses. Thisarrangement of the angle irons, with the thicker legs projectingoutwardly from the side walls in the form of a flange, contributes tothe increased strength and rigidity of the segment, because a greaterportion of the metal section is thereby disposed at a distance from theneutral axis of the transverse section of segment.

In a modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, the angleirons 19 are replaced by similar reinforcing members 29. The angle irons29, however, are provided with a heel 30. The angle irons are welded tothe side walls 16 of the plates 12 so that the adjacent heels 30 definea narrow mouthed recess 331 for the reception of caulking material 32.In addition to the caulking material 32, a weld 33 may be employed tomake the joints between adjacent segments waterproof.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figures 1 through 3,similar objects can be accomplished by welding or caulking the joints inany convenient manner.

Figure 5 illustrates a further modified form of the invention, in whicha liner segment 34 has an integral body portion and side walls 35. Asshown in Figure 6, the segment 34 is rolled fiat with reinforcingflanges 36 thereon. After rolling, the edges of the segment are bent upin the manner indicated in chain lines in Figure 6 to form the finishedplate, asshown in Figure 5. End walls 21 may be welded thereto in themanner described, and reinforcing members 26 inserted therein.

Figure 7 shows a further form of the invention in which, instead ofrolling the complete segment as a unit, as in Figures 5 and 6, I formthe segment in two halves 37, each forming a portion of the body of thesegment and having side walls 38 and reinforcing flanges 39 integraltherewith. The two halves 37 of the plate are butt welded at 40.

Figure 8 illustrates a form of liner segment similar to that shown. inFigure 7, except that the joint between the sections 37 is effected bymeans of a lap weld 41.

Although I have illustrated and described herein but a few of thepreferred forms of the invention, it will be apparent that many changesin the embodiments described can readily be made. Such changes, ofcourse, can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention,as set forth in the appended claims, or sacrificing the advantages ofthe invention as above enumerated.

I claim:

1. A tunnel liner segment comprising a plate curved longitudinally, sidewalls extending perpendicularly to the plate, flanges on said wallsparallel to said plate and thicker than a portion,

at least, of said side walls, and reinforcing members extendingtransversly of the plate, abutting said side walls, the portions of theplate adjacent saidside walls being offset permitting a close fitbetween said members, the plate and side walls. 2. In a tunnel linersegment, a plate, side walls therefor, and end walls welded to the edgesof having legs'of unequal'thickness welded to said side walls with thethinner legs in engagement therewith, and walls welded to said bodyportion, and reinforcing members positioned transversely of the linerand secured to thereof. I v

4. In a tunnel liner segment, a metal sheet having a body portion, sidewall portions bent up therefrom, angle irons having legs of unequal thebody irtion 4 thickness welded to said side walls withthe thicker legprojecting perpendicularly therefrom, end walls welded to said bodyportion and side walls,

and transverse thrust members engaging said side walls. g I

5. In av tunnel liner segment, the combination with a plate having sidewalls bent up therefrom, of angle irons having legs of unequal thicknesssecured to the edges of the side walls with the thinner leg inengagement therewith.

6. In a tunnel liner segment, an outer wall and side walls integraltherewith, end plates secured to the outer wall and side walls, andreinforcing angle bars secured to said side walls, said bar having legsof unequal thickness.

'7. A tunnel liner segment comprising a plate; side walls therefor,flanges projecting from the side walls, said flanges being thicker thanat least a portion of the side walls, and reinforcing mem bers extendingacross the segment engaging said. plate and side walls, and secured atleast to the plate. 1

8. A. tunnel liner segment comprising a plate at least, of said sideWalls, and reinforcing members extending transversely of the segment,abutting said side walls.

9. A tunnel liner segment comprising a, plate,

side walls therefor, formed, at least in part, of a rolled member,flanges projecting at right angles to saidwalls and being thicker than aportion, at least of said walls, and reinforcing members extendingacross the plate in engagement there-- with.

10. In a tunnel liner segment, a plate having side walls perpendicularthereto, flanges at right angles to said walls substantially thickerthan portions of said walls, said walls and flanges being formed, atleast in part, of rolled structural shapes.

11. A tunnel liner segment comprising a plate, side walls extendingsubstantially at right angles to the plate, and reinforcing membersextending the length of the walls and at right angles thereto, saidmembers being substantially thicker than the walls and composed of arolled structural shape.

12. A tunnel liner segment comprising a skin plate, a side wall integraltherewith and bent relative thereto, and a flange on said side wallsubstantially parallel to said plate and thicker than a portion, atleast, of said side wall.

ROBERT V. PROCTOR.

